EPA to host informational meetings on Housatonic River cleaning agreement

LENOX, MA (NEWS10) — The first of three public meetings discussing the settlement made to begin the process of cleaning up PCB’s out of the Housatinic River will be held Wednesday night.

General Electric and several Massachusetts Towns reached an agreement in which the company will clean the river of the chemicals it’s been accused of dumping in to the river for decades.

A bulk of the PCB’s will be moved to an out of state hazardous waste landfill and some will be dumped at a local landfill in Lee.

“This landmark agreement is a major milestone in our collective efforts to address PCB contamination in the Housatonic River, and we are looking forward to more comprehensive and faster cleanup activity in the river. The cleanup will achieve the goal of protecting human health and the environment and ensures that the Housatonic River and its floodplain are restored and preserved as an asset to the community and wildlife,” said EPA New England Regional Administrator Dennis Deziel in a press release. “EPA is grateful to all of our partners who have remained focused on achieving an excellent outcome for the Housatonic River and for Berkshire County. We look forward to meeting with citizens in the communities to discuss the agreement and next steps.”

According to the Environmental Protection Agency some key benefits of the agreement include:

• The immediate start to work on investigation and design of the cleanup;
• Significant cleanup enhancements to the previously defined remedy;
• A hybrid disposal approach, with the most contaminated waste transported out of state to licensed hazardous waste landfills, while the remaining less contaminated materials will be consolidated in a state-of-the-art, double-lined upland disposal facility;
• A substantial economic development package to municipalities of $63 million, potential land transfers, and other benefits;
• Reduced impact to the communities and local roadways, and enhanced coordination with stakeholders; and
• A commitment to further research on innovative technologies, demonstration efforts and pilot studies.

The EPA will conduct several public information opportunities to explain the agreement and answer questions from the public.

Below is the schedule of the public informational meetings:

Wednesday, February 19, 2020, 6:00 p.m.
Lee High School
300 Greylock Street
Lee, MA

Thursday, February 20, 2020, 6:00 p.m.
Monument Mountain High School
600 Stockbridge Road
Great Barrington, MA

Thursday, March 5, 2020, 6:00 p.m.
Herberg Middle School, Auditorium
501 Pomeroy Avenue
Pittsfield, MA

More information can be found here.